Free 186 More Best Homemade Tools eBook:  
Get tool plans

User Tag List

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: New mower with bagger doesn't suck

  1. #1
    Supporting Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    442
    Thanks
    233
    Thanked 200 Times in 105 Posts

    Gadgeteer's Tools

    New mower with bagger doesn't suck

    New Craftsman 30" mower with bagger came with a 3 in 1 mulching blade. Had to go over grass and leaves 3 times before it was clean... left behind small sticks, along with deer and bear poop. Had to clean out chute after every pass. (One-size-fits-all socks never worked for me, either.) Learned that a high lift blade is not available. Snapper used to provide bolt-on wings to increase lift for bagging. I added my own lift wings to 3 in 1 blade... turned it into a 4 in 1 blade. Now, the unit sucks up everything on the first pass, including grass, leaves, sticks, and deer and bear poop. Chute remains clear, even when bags are topped out... yeah! Happy camper. I like things that work.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails New mower with bagger doesn't suck-blade-mod-2.png   New mower with bagger doesn't suck-blade-mod-3.png  

    186 More Best Homemade Tools eBook

  2. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Gadgeteer For This Useful Post:

    mwmkravchenko (Nov 20, 2023), odd one (Nov 21, 2023), robertblacksmith (Nov 27, 2023), tonyfoale (Nov 30, 2023), tuchie (Nov 20, 2023), wolfpaak (Nov 27, 2023)

  3. #2
    Content Editor
    Supporting Member
    DIYer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    3,055
    Thanks
    791
    Thanked 1,880 Times in 1,677 Posts


    Thanks Gadgeteer! We've added your Mower Lift Wings to our Farm and Garden category,
    as well as to your builder page: Gadgeteer's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:




    2,000+ Tool Plans

  4. #3
    Supporting Member hemmjo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Posts
    2,659
    Thanks
    251
    Thanked 1,514 Times in 855 Posts

    hemmjo's Tools
    I have always wondered about doing that. Did you have much trouble getting it balanced?

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to hemmjo For This Useful Post:

    mwmkravchenko (Nov 20, 2023)

  6. #4
    Supporting Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    442
    Thanks
    233
    Thanked 200 Times in 105 Posts

    Gadgeteer's Tools
    Quote Originally Posted by hemmjo View Post
    I have always wondered about doing that. Did you have much trouble getting it balanced?
    Superior skill, and cunning yielded perfect balance after the wings were added to the blade, so no further balancing was needed... well, a little luck didn't hurt, either. I'm, totally, overjoyed at the results of this easy modification.

  7. #5
    Supporting Member CharlesWaugh's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Boring, OR
    Posts
    354
    Thanks
    58
    Thanked 322 Times in 124 Posts

    CharlesWaugh's Tools
    I too have thought about that but felt nervous about incompatible materials, welding heat shrink differential, resulting stress and my neighbor down the block getting a schrapnel wound.

    I want to do it make a serious leaf blower out of my zero-turn.

    Or to do even more aggressive 'mow-tilling' (i do it now using old blades to flatten out all those pesky mole hills in my back field)
    I'd add a bit down-ward to 'lower' the blades for a better buzz-cut.

  8. #6
    Supporting Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    442
    Thanks
    233
    Thanked 200 Times in 105 Posts

    Gadgeteer's Tools
    Quote Originally Posted by CharlesWaugh View Post
    I too have thought about that but felt nervous about incompatible materials, welding heat shrink differential, resulting stress and my neighbor down the block getting a schrapnel wound.

    I want to do it make a serious leaf blower out of my zero-turn.

    Or to do even more aggressive 'mow-tilling' (i do it now using old blades to flatten out all those pesky mole hills in my back field)
    I'd add a bit down-ward to 'lower' the blades for a better buzz-cut.
    I've considered negative possibilities, but since the positives far outweighed any rare/freak occurrences, I determined to give it a shot. So far, my failure rate on DIY projects is zero.

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to Gadgeteer For This Useful Post:

    Wildwilly (Nov 23, 2023)

  10. #7
    Supporting Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    442
    Thanks
    233
    Thanked 200 Times in 105 Posts

    Gadgeteer's Tools
    I'll be performing destructive testing on the modified blade next summer. I'll post my results at the end of the mowing season.

    The photos, somewhat, distort the size of the added wings. They are both 1/8" thick, and measure 3.25" x 2.5" x 1".
    Last edited by Gadgeteer; Nov 26, 2023 at 10:28 PM.

  11. #8
    Supporting Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Posts
    15
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts

    30" Sears

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadgeteer View Post
    New Craftsman 30" mower with bagger came with a 3 in 1 mulching blade. Had to go over grass and leaves 3 times before it was clean... left behind small sticks, along with deer and bear poop. Had to clean out chute after every pass. (One-size-fits-all socks never worked for me, either.) Learned that a high lift blade is not available. Snapper used to provide bolt-on wings to increase lift for bagging. I added my own lift wings to 3 in 1 blade... turned it into a 4 in 1 blade. Now, the unit sucks up everything on the first pass, including grass, leaves, sticks, and deer and bear poop. Chute remains clear, even when bags are topped out... yeah! Happy camper. I like things that work.
    I think I have the same 30" sears mower with same problem; added wings to blade about like you did. Chute stays clearer but sucking leaves up has not improved any.

  12. #9
    Supporting Member hemmjo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Posts
    2,659
    Thanks
    251
    Thanked 1,514 Times in 855 Posts

    hemmjo's Tools
    You have converted your mower a lawn vac.

    The effectiveness of a lawn vac is directly proportional to how close to the ground. If the blade is too high clean air is collected from above the debris, leaving it behind. Also wet leaves as are not as easily collected as dry leaves.

    Just a thought.

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to hemmjo For This Useful Post:

    Gadgeteer (Nov 28, 2023)

  14. #10
    Supporting Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    442
    Thanks
    233
    Thanked 200 Times in 105 Posts

    Gadgeteer's Tools
    Quote Originally Posted by seb fontana View Post
    I think I have the same 30" sears mower with same problem; added wings to blade about like you did. Chute stays clearer but sucking leaves up has not improved any.
    I'm interested to know the size and shape of your wings, and the angle that they make with the blade. I have huge silver poplar and cottonwood trees in my backyard, so that is the reason I needed the highlift feature.

    Like hemmjo has mentioned there is a difference between vacuuming wet and dry leaves... dry leaves just flew into the bagger, while wet leaves were a bit slower. But, compared to the 3 in 1 blade that came on the mower, my modified blade is FAR superior. Luck is, sometimes, successful.

    Template used for lift wing attachment, below.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails New mower with bagger doesn't suck-wing-lift-template.png  
    Last edited by Gadgeteer; Nov 28, 2023 at 02:46 AM.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •